You're on the money about mind games though, Embiid knew pump fake #1 was a bluff, #2 I can only speculate but I assume was on purpose given that at this level of play physicality takes a back seat to the mental battle in an iso 1 on 1. Or im also reading too much into this and Embiid thought hed get a defensive slide and felt the shot was worthy of contesting if he jumped

See part of it though is that if you are being matched with players of that rating, that is because that is where your skill is. The people you play against will not by default be better because they have the plat label. If you are playing against them, it is because your mmr is similar and so is your supposed skill level. Apart from that i agree with what youre saying though :)

Hey, this is a documented phenomenon, i forget what its called, but some people are more predisposed to it than others. If you google "falling while falling asleep" that should yield some good results.